flirts with Zander Smith (Chad Brannon) and helps him avoid the law. She briefly has a crush on Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher). In 2005, Maxie (now Kirsten Storms) faces complications with her heart transplant. While in the hospital, Maxie meets Jesse Beaudry (Matt Marraccini), who claims to be an undercover cop blamed for a murder he didn't commit. Maxie helps Jesse and they go on the run. By the time they arrive home, they have fallen in love with each other, much to Mac's dismay. 2006–2008 After Jesse dies in the line of duty, Maxie is devastated, and falls into a dark place, partying all the time. She turns to Jesse's partner Lucky for comfort, resulting in an affair. Lucky is married to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst), but Maxie still goes after him. When Maxie finds out Lucky has a pain pill addiction, she provides him pills in exchange for sex. When Lucky decides to go to rehab and win Elizabeth back, Maxie pretends to be pregnant to hold onto Lucky. She fakes a miscarriage, and Lucky later finds out the truth. During the Metro Court hostage crisis, Maxie ends up trapped with one of the gunmen, later revealed to be Cooper Barrett (Jason Gerhardt). Maxie covers for him afterwards, and they eventually start a relationship. When Maxie suspects Cooper has taken interest in Maxie's enemy Lulu Spencer (Julie Marie Berman), she propositions Cooper's former Army buddy Logan Hayes (Josh Duhon), saying that if he can get Lulu to sleep with him, then she will sleep with Logan. Maxie eventually tries to call off the bet after Cooper admits how much he cares for her. However, unable to help herself after realizing Logan is in love with Lulu, she blackmails Logan and sleeps with him. Later on, Cooper finds Maxie and Logan making out. He tells Maxie that he cannot watch her self-destruct any longer, and ends their relationship. Maxie and Cooper reconcile right before Georgie is murdered. Maxie is grief-stricken, to the point that she belittles her mother at Georgie's funeral for abandoning them. Cooper is suspected of the murder, but Maxie believes he's innocent. When he asks Maxie to leave town with him, she agrees, but she later finds him dead of an apparent suicide. The police further their belief that Cooper was the killer. Maxie refuses to believe this, and teams up with Damian Spinelli (Bradford Anderson)